Exalted Scars

Why do we face adversity?

Some would say that it is simply so that we lean on God. Without trials we would not need a savior. That, however, is to dumb down our relationship to a one way street. We only take what is so freely given when it is convenient for us to do so. For instance, when we mess up we are quick to ask for mercy and we even tend to ask Him to somehow magically fix everything so we don’t need to get our hands dirty. It scares us to think that a trial or problem may actually do us good. We would rather just ignore any problem and continue to carry our mask of fake smiles and expectant “how are you’s.” I have heard too many people make the remark that when they habitually ask someone how they are and get anything more than the standard “good” it comes as an inconvenience to listen to them.  It has become a social norm to cover up your feelings because you may get in the way of someone if you decide to tell them the truth about your troubles back at home or hard day of work. I want to challenge that.

I want to stand boldly and say that I wish not to live a life without the effects of wearisome troubles.

And here is what I mean:

When we go through things that are tough in our lives we tend to focus on how bad it is in the present. It is extremely hard for us to think of the good that will come of the situation because we are living in the pain of the moment. When we come out of the struggle, which notice how we always do, we thank God for what we have learned as a sort of sigh of relief because He really did come through.

Isn’t that what His love has proved all along? Isn’t that what He promised when the skin was being whipped from His back but all He could think about was how precious you are?

Perspective is key. It is everything. When we go through things that take our breath away and make us doubt if we will make it through we are being given an opportunity. An opportunity to seek and find more grace and truth than ever before. There is nothing like these moments when He rescues you from your shambles and wraps you tight in His embrace. That moment is beyond all measure.

You may be thinking to yourself, “Sure His love is enough but I still don’t want to go through tragedy.” I dare you to go back to your unbearably bright white picket fence and smile at your cautious neighbors and continue with your surface level conversations that never get to a deeper meaning. When trouble comes, and it will come as a result of this broken world, fall to your knees and ask for His consuming fire. Ask for a touch of folly so that you can realize your foolishness in thinking you can do it by yourself.

The most incredible thing about it all is that He will be there the moment your knees touch the ground. He won’t shame you or scold you saying, “What were you thinking” rather He will say,

“Welcome home my beloved I have been waiting for you”

with complete adoration in His eyes. He has nothing but love for you. A love that is incomparable and incomprehensible. This love carries you through your troubles and burdens so that you can come out stronger than before. Because we have found love where it wasn’t supposed to be, right in front of us. We expect it to be hidden away so that we must work for and find it buried in a chest marked, “dead works.”

The joy in our afflictions is that it gives us credibility. Credibility because you have been on the front line of what you have faced and came out a solidified warrior. When you receive credibility you have the opportunity to speak life to people who are going through the same issues and  battles. You are given the chance to be a conduit of the greatest gift man could ever hope to receive. That is our adventure. To share stories and see beyond scared faces and hardened hearts. We receive credibility in the holiest of ways, through the course God laid specifically out for us. He made you with the knowledge of what you would go through and He ended with a smile because He can see your accomplishments. He is the greatest example of a proud father. He wants us to succeed. He wants us to live life in a glorified state of earned credibility.

So do not fret next time you start to crumble but rather realize you have one of the greatest opportunities granted to us; a chance to grow. Our spirits crave it and our soul buzzes with joy because it knows it will soon encounter the presence of its creator in a more significant way because we have chosen to say yes to His help and His companionship. I am in love with my creator and I embrace my credibility. Do not compare yourselves to others. We are not to feel less or feel more because our credibility varies. How could our stories be the same? That would dilute His creativity. Rather when our time comes and we meet face to face with Jesus Christ and He glorifies us for our doings on Earth according to the resources we are given we will celebrate by laying our crowns of glory at His feet in the highest form of worship. He has given us each a specific story to tell. Share it freely and with great pleasure to introduce Jesus to all who will listen. Love immensely those who will not. For He will call home the weary and wicked.

Our community is a God given gift to our souls. We flutter amongst each other loving one another in our own unique way. We call them love languages. A language unique to the soul. Rely on these relationships for earthly consolation during times of fear and anxiety.

Trials are nothing compared to the good that comes from them and the results of the built credibility. A foundation is nothing without building blocks. These building blocks are your phases of life, some sweeter than others but all produce one solid line of communication from your soul to the Golden Gates of Heaven and beyond.

Finally, my hope for you is not to come away from this thinking you have to earn credibility in order to be a glorified son or daughter. It is not a set standard that you must attain to relate to others. Rather it is an opportunity to add to your testimony and widen the gaze in which you look through the scope of your eyes. Embrace your credibility for what it is: exalted scars that drew you closer to the presence of your Creator.